While the prior art includes many variations of a holder or receptacle for eyeglasses or the like, none are believed to teach, contemplate, or otherwise suggest the present invention.
During the course of the search the following patents were deemed at least generally pertinent to the present invention;
______________________________________ Patent Number Inventor(s) Date of Issue ______________________________________ 5613661 Seach 03/25/97 5046696 Lee 09/10/91 4771515 Guarro 09/20/88 4452354 Tabachnick 06/05/84 4239167 Lane 12/16/80 3946877 Galicia 03/30/76 3825214 Ciolfi 07/23/74 3810596 Elm 05/14/74 3259348 Dann 07/05/66 3148812 Hilsinger, Jr. 09/15/64 3123208 Barnun et al 03/03/64 3119429 Stiller et al 01/28/64 3101869 Baker 08/27/63 3052002 Lesher 09/04/62 2850152 Marrufo 09/02/58 2551913 Toby 05/08/51 2512031 Marcoux 06/20/50 2368868 James 02/06/45 2102690 Fischer 12/21/37 1834151 Gordon 12/01/31 1748430 Stringham 02/25/30 1568889 Eliasson 01/05/26 1486472 Windecker 03/11/24 1474308 Wimberly 11/13/23 794065 Woodworth 07/04/05 652245 Cameron 06/26/00 Des 367555 Lagas 03/05/96 Des 321199 Soulsa et a 10/29/91 ______________________________________
U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,354 illustrates a tube-type eyeglass holder having a generally rectangular body of "flexible plastic" having a conduit therethrough for supporting a temple bar, the body having a back, a front, and sidewalls, the back including an adhesive for affixing the unit to a vertical support surface, but this device is in the general form of a tube, and lacks an engagement area configuration designed to better isolate the supported eyeglasses, when compared to the present, applied for invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,696 teaches a loop-type eyeglass holder having a backplate having a support member emanating therefrom, the support member having first and second sloping front walls terminating in a generally horizontal support bar. '696 contemplates a loop type of holder, which is to say that only a small portion of the temple bar is isolated by the '696 holder, thereby retaining same in a loose fashion; under bumpy conditions, the eyewear would likely bounce around considerably, possibly resulting in the eyewear being jarred from the holder, or perhaps becoming scratched or otherwise damaged due to a collision of the eyewear with the support surface or holder.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,239,167 and Des 321, 199 teach loop-type holding receptacles for eyeglasses or the like.
Unlike the present invention, the prior art fails to contemplate an eyeglass holder which can isolate a length of the temple bar as is done in a tube-type holder, while providing an engagement area to better retain the supported eyewear in a particular location on the holder, as is contemplated in some degree in the loop-type holders, albeit different than that contemplated in the present invention.